Kitefest 2008

We traveled to Redcliffe, north of Brisbane, for their annual Kitefest event.

Just a few interesting tidbits about Redcliffe . . . It is the site of the first European settlement in what was to become the state of Queensland and is a peninsula that sits right on the ocean and looks out onto Moreton Island and to the open sea. In the early 1900s "holidaymakers" came to Redcliffe by steamboat because there wasn't a road/highway easily accessible from the mainland. We were able to travel easily over to Redcliffe on a looong bridge.

We enjoyed yet another new town and adventure but the day was actually so windy that we didn't get to see alot of kites up in the air. Can you believe that? Too windy to fly a kite!!

I added some additional interesting pictures to the slide show. One is of the Bee Gees' house in Redcliffe. Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb lived in Redcliffe from 1958 to the 1960s and their old house still stands much as it did then. We have also discovered a unique way that Australians "add-on" to their homes. There isn't alot of room to expand homes on the ground level, because most houses are built too close together. But, instead of adding to the top of the house and adding a level upstairs, it seems that most will raise the house up on stilts/beams and build a level underneath.

This past weekend Bryan and I were also able to have our first date night since moving to Australia (can you believe that!?) Well, it will also be our last date night while in Australia! (See our Australia education below to understand why!!)

Australian Education:
OK . . . this may not exactly be "education" but it was a BIG eye-opener for us!!
Here is the pricing low-down for our "date night":
Dinner (semi-casual restaurant): $138.00
Movie: $28.80 ($14.40/ticket)
Parking for the Car: $12
Gas to get downtown: $10
Babysitting: $75 ($15/hour) . . . Don't get any ideas Kaitlyn!!! :)
GRAND TOTAL: $263.80
Now you understand why "date-nights" are few and far between when living in Australia!

The Great Ocean Road

We left you in Queenscliff, Victoria, after our last post. The remainder of our big Australia trip took us through some of the most beautiful scenery and views that we have ever seen. Starting in Queenscliff we drove along The Great Ocean Road. This highway is very windy and drifts along the coast of the Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean at the southern point of Australia. The ocean views were spectacular. The waters looked so clear and turquoise that we ended up stopping often to snap pictures and try to capture the beauty of what we were seeing.

Along the Great Ocean Road we spotted an awesome house that overlooked the ocean. We took several pictures of it from the main highway/road (see slide show) but then decided to try to go explore it further. Yes, we were trespassing but we couldn't resist! We found the entrance of the house and took several more pictures. We found that this house is the most photographed house along the Great Ocean Road . . . you can see why.

We soon entered the Otway National Park, filled with lush and beautiful rainforests and great countryland. We stopped off at Maits Rest, a sub-temperate rainforest, and took a short hike through. The sub-temperate rainforests are different from the tropical rainforests in Queensland (where we live) because they are alot cooler. Everything was VERY green with tons of unique ferns and trees all around.

Our next stop was the Cape Otway Lighthouse. This is the oldest lighthouse on mainland Australia. We were able to climb to the top of the lighthouse and get great views from the deck at the top. It was very interesting to hear how this lighthouse played a role in helping vessels as they approached "the shipwreck coast." As we drove the road between the lighthouse and the highway we found a wild koala hanging out in a tree close to the road. We have never seen a koala in the wild before (it looked exactly like the ones in the zoo!) so this was a great experience.

Our final stop for the day was at the Twelve Apostles in the Southern Ocean. The Twelve Apostles are giant rock stacks that rise majestically from the Southern Ocean. The Twelve Apostles are the remnants from constant erosion of the limestone cliffs of the mainland that began 10–20 million years ago. The stormy Southern Ocean and blasting winds gradually eroded the softer limestone, forming caves in the cliffs. The caves eventually became arches and when they collapsed rocks stacked up to 45 metres high were left isolated from the shore. It is not known exactly when the limestone stacks became known as the Twelve Apostles and why. Conjecture is that they exude such power and awe that visitors could only stand in awe of nature and its creation - hence the name's biblical origins. There were actually 13 original rock formations and you could see 9 of them from the viewing platforms . . . until July 3, 2005. The disappearance of one of the fabled Twelve Apostles into the Southern Ocean on July 3rd, 2005 was a reminder to the world that this majestic coastline is a work in progress. (See a shot of one of the postcards we bought so you can see the disappearance of one of the Twelve Apostles.)

We decided to retire for the night and get up to visit the Twelve Apostles again the next morning. We were up bright and early the next day (imagine that . . . with two small children!) and decided to view them at sunrise when there would be fewer tourists around. When we arrived there were probably only 5-10 people total there . . . it was breathtaking . . . and we had it all to ourselves (almost!!) We also decided to take our first family helicopter ride to view ALL of the Twelve Apostles from the air. Again, spectacular views! The ride was only 10 minutes long but worth every cent. We thought Evan would enjoy the ride but he really was only interested and mesmerized by the headphones and microphone that he got to wear . . . Kaden couldn't figure out what we were doing to him!

We then drove on towards the end of the Great Ocean Road and stopped to see several other rock formations along the way, including London Bridge, The Arch, The Grotto, the Bay of Martyrs, and the Bay of Islands.

We started to trek inland towards Adelaide (countryside driving) for the last leg of our road trip. We enjoyed the farming and agricultural views as we don't often get to see this side of Australia living in Brisbane. This is also the areas of great winerys so there were TONS of beautiful vineyards along the way. We also spotted wild emus while driving! This section of our trip took us out of the state of Victoria and into the state of South Australia.

Once in Adelaide we just had to visit the largest rocking horse in the world . . . and believe me, it is BIG. Bryan then spent a day in Adelaide completing another round of training for John Deere. Evan, Kaden, and I then flew from Adelaide to Brisbane (a 3 hour flight) while Bryan flew to Sydney for one last day of training.

It was a great vacation and a wonderful way for us to see more of Australia.

Australian Education:

Australia is made up of 7 states: Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, and Western Australia.

There are 3 time zones in Australia - Eastern, Central, and Western.

But here's the kicker . . . South Australia, the Northern Territory, and one small city in New South Wales (Broken Hill) have a 1/2 hour time difference from the rest of the country. Nope, they can't make it simple and round it to a one hour difference . . . it's a 1/2 hour!

Needless to say this really messed us up while we were on our trip. While staying in Cunnawarra, South Australia, we had dinner reservations for 6PM. Well, we showed up at 5:30PM (thinking it was 6PM) and wondered why it took them so long to make our food, etc. Halfway through the dinner we realized that we were still functioning in another time zone!!

Melbourne & Phillip Island

Happy Mother's Day to all!

We recently took a two week family holiday down to Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, and drove The Great Ocean Road to Adelaide in South Australia before coming home. This post covers the first few days of our adventure.

After returning from several days in Sydney we turned around and flew to Melbourne the following evening. Bryan had to spend our first few days teaching a class for John Deere so the boys and I hits the streets of Melbourne to find things to do. I know, I'm getting very daring to head out in a big unfamiliar city on my own with two children . . . but all turned out well and we had a good time in Melbourne.

On day one we found a Krispy Kreme store and made sure to stop for a few (expensive) donuts for breakfast, then it was on to the Melbourne Aquarium. Evan enjoyed running from room and room to see all of the different fish and sharks. We even got to watch the scuba divers go into the large bubble tank and feed the sting rays, sea turtles, sharks, and other fish.

Day two took us in search of a park and on the way we passed a major taxi cab protest that was occurring right in the middle of the street at Federation Square (the busiest city intersection in Melbourne for taxis, trams, and the train.) Nothing could move because there were 200+ protesters, police officers, and red cross workers covering the streets. A young Indian taxi cab driver had been stabbed the night before and was in the hospital in critical condition. They were protesting for more protection from the police and respect from the community. I believe the protest went on for almost 24 hours before decisions were reached. The city agreed to put screens up in all taxi cabs between the front seat and back seat, as well as agreed to pre-paid cab rides for all night time fares. It was quite interesting to see everything unfold right in the heart of Melbourne and not far from where we were staying. After getting around the protesting we arrived in Federation Square, a famous section of Melbourne. The park that we were in search of was behind Federation Square so we enjoyed our morning at the park after all of the commotion we had witnessed.

Bryan's training was complete and he wasn't due to teach again until the following week in Adelaide so we hit the road in our Holden Statesman and headed for Phillip Island. Phillip Island is known for the Penguin Parade that occurs every evening at dusk. The Fairy or Little Penguins arrive on the island (from the ocean) and head to their burrows for several days before heading back out to sea to fish. We spent the afternoon buying winter coats for the boys . . . we hadn't realized how cold it was going to get in the evenings on Phillip Island, and touring around the island. While walking along the boardwalk Bryan spotted a fairy penguin that was apparently growing his winter feathers and then I spotted another one under the boardwalk (that looked more like your typical Fairy Penguin.) That night we took our places on the platform to view the penguins arriving from the ocean. It was a spectacular sight! It was chilly out but nothing like the cold we have experienced in the US!

After viewing the penguins we then headed to Sorrento, Victoria so that we could catch a car ferry the following day across the ocean/bay to Queenscliff and start our journey along The Great Ocean Road. (Stay tuned for more on the rest of our journey in another posting!)

Australian Education: The Fairy Penguin (Australia) or Little Blue Penguin (New Zealand)
This is a close up picture of the Fairy Penguin that we went to see at Phillip Island.

Here are some interesting facts about the Fairy Penguin:
- Fairy Penguins are found on the southern coast of Australia and New Zealand.
- The Fairy Penguin is the smallest kind of penguin.
- The Fairy Penguin lives in a burrow. These penguins don't live in the snow and ice like most penguins do. Fairy Penguins live for six years in the wild.
-Fairy Penguins come ashore after dark when most predators are not around. Then they move inland in small groups to their nesting groups. Most penguins go back to sea one or two hours before sunrise.
- They have little heads and big bodies. They have two little holes for their ears, one nose and a mouth. They have webbed feet and they have dark blue feathers on their back and white feathers on their front. The shape of their body helps them to swim and dive easily.
- At sea the penguin's predators are sharks, seals, killer whales. On land foxes, feral cats and dogs, sea eagles and large gulls are the penguin's predators.
- Like most seabirds, they have a long lifespan. The average for the species is 6.5 years, but flipper ringing experiments have recorded individuals that have lived for over 20 years.